Seed and process of preparing same for planting.



4 UNITED STATES PATENT ornron;

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LINeLn, WYOMING, AssIeNoa or ONE-HALF 'ro enu 6. smar, or INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA.

sEEnANn rnocns's or PREPARING smn r03. PLANTING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct.'21,.1 91 9.

lie-Drawing. Application filed July 21, 1917, Serial No. 181,988.Renewed March 14, 1919. Serial No.

-a citizen of the United States, residing at Lingle, Goshen county, andState of Wyoming, have invented and discovered certaln new and usefulImprovements in' Seeds and Processes of Preparing Same for Planting, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to seeds and processes of preparing the same forplanting. The objects of the invention are to impart such weight anduniformity of size to the seeds that the distribution of the same inplanting may be effectively controlled, obviatin the dispersion of theseeds by the Win enabling the same to be planted by a cornplanter orsimilar machine and making it possible to plant seeds of light weight inconveniently separated hills and in definite numbers, with the resultsof saving seed, permitting cross cultivation of the plants andvobviating the necessity of thinning; and also, in conjunction withthese results providing for a more effective application of fertilizerthan under present practices.

With these objects in view my invention consists, broadly stated, incoating the seeds before planting with an adhesive substance capable ofdrying thereon, and adapted to give such additional body to the seeds asto impart suiilcient' weight and size thereto 'as to prevent theirdispersion by the wind during-planting, and enable them to bedistributed by a corn planter or similar seed planting machine, this-*body being formed 'with other seeds.

Sugar beet seeds are very light. They must be planted close to thesurface of the soil. They are therefore easily blown away by the wind.In consequence of these conditions they must be planted by drills in"continuous rows, and in excessive quantities in order to insure asufficient growth. The plantm in continuous rows or dr1l1s 1s exceedingy laborious and costly. After the plants have developed they must thenbe blocked into separate hills which are necessarily irregular inarrangement and then thinned, which irregular arrangement prevents crosscultivation. This work is now done by hand and is extremely costly andunsatisfactory. In the planting of beet seeds coated according to myinvention, the seeds may be fed from an ordinary corn planter, anddeposited only at regular intervals in hills, one or more seeds in aplace, as desired; This mode of planting effects a very great saving ofseed. After the plants have developed, they may be cross cultivated bymachinery as in the cultivation of corn, avoiding the labor of handcultivation and thinning.

In carrying out the invention, the substance employed for the coating,when no fertilizing medium is to be employed, consists preferably ofstarch which is applied ing the starch on the moistened seeds with theresult of adherence of the starch thereto. These steps of moistening andpowdering the seeds are repeated successivel until a suflicientaccumulation of the adhesive material thereon is obtained to give toeach seed a body which will entirely cover the rough surface of theseeds and add sufficient weight and size thereto toenable the seed to bereadily handled and distributed by an intermittently feeding deviceadapted to'feed the seeds in definitely controlled quantities and inwhich the completed covered seeds are of substantially uniform size andpossess a smooth surface which serves to facilitate the feeding action.The starch used is of such quality thatit will absorb moisture readlly,and quickly disintegrate under the action thereof so that when thecoated seeds are placed in the ground the coating willtake up moistureerefrom and break up and separate from the seeds, thus permitting theirgermination.

In the formation of the exterior weight iving body upon beet seeds, theproportions employed are from four to six tlmes by weight of the amountof the starch or starch mixed with the fertilizing material to theseeds. Thus it has been found, in practice, that a desirable proportionfor use in connection with sugar beet seeds is a mixture of the starchwith fertilizing material amounting to three pounds and one ounce tonine ounces of the seeds. With seeds thus coated the covering body issubstantially one-sixteenth of'an inch in thickness and completelyincloses the seed and produces a smooth symmetrical product which isfrom 5 to seven times as heavy as the uncoated seed.

Other compositions possessing the characteristic of disintegration,under the action of the moisture in the soil, may be used to form thecoating.

Although sugar beet seeds thus coated constitute the most valuableembodiment of my invention, as far as now known, yet the process iscapable of application to other seeds to increase their weight andrender them regular and uniform in shape and size, and for which it maybe desirable to substitute the above method of planting in controlledquantities of definite number for drilling in continuous rows.

The invention also contemplates the use of a fertilizing agent as thecoating substance or as part of the composition. For this purpose acomposition of starch, ammonia, otash, phosphorus, and slaked lime appied to the moistened seeds as before described has been found suitable.A desirable mixture to be applied to nine ounces of sugar beet seeds hasbeen found to be one consisting of slaked lime one ounce, red starfertilizer (ammonia, potash and phosphorus) one ounce, and poweredstarch three pounds one ounce. The starch serves as a non-deleteriousadhesive and body giving substance and produces a dry hard covering orshell. Other fertilizer or fertilizer-carrying compositions capable ofdisintegration under the effect of soil moisture, however, may beemployed.

Seeds thus coated may be prepared at a suitable plant and keptindefinitely and shipped to the farmer for use.

The application of the fertilizer directly to the seeds will produce amore effective stimulating and feeding action, as well as be moreeconomical, than the ordinary process of applying the fertilizer to thesoil.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. Seeds preparedfor planting having a hard, built up body of adhesive material and solidmaterial on the exterior surface of the seeds and of sufficient mass toadd substantial weight thereto.

2. Seeds of a weight and size not adapted for plating by machinersingly, having a dry, hard relatively thic shell of material adheredthereto, said shell providing a smooth surface for the seeds and ofsufficient mass to add weight and size thereto necessary for planting bymachine in controlled numbers and at definite intervals withoutdispersion.

3. Seeds prepared for planting having a dry fertilizing coating whichadds substantially to the weight and size of said seeds.

4. Seeds having a hard, dry built up coating of adhesive material andmoisture absorbent, disintegrable material, non-deleterious to the seed.

5. Sugar beet seeds having a hard, dry, smooth covering of adhesive,moisture absorbent, disintegrable material, non-deleterious to the seedsand of suflicient thickness to increase substantially the weight andsize of said seeds.

6. Seeds coated with starch dried thereon and of sufiicient thickness toadd appreciable weight and size to the seeds.

7. Seeds having a dry coating of a composition comprising starch andfertilizing material.

8. The process of preparing seeds for planting which consists inapplying to the surface thereof an adhesive, then applying alayer ofsolid material and then successively adhesive material and solidmaterial until a coating has been built up on the seeds sufficient toovercome irregularities in outline thereof and to add suflicient weightto the

